Thursday, November 14, 2019

YOTA Camp Coming to North America

Following in the footsteps of successful Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) camps in Europe and Africa in recent years, a group of young hams and their supporters in the United States will be bringing the YOTA camp concept to North America in 2020.

The first Youth on the Air Camp to be held in the Americas is scheduled for June 21-26 at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester, Ohio, near Cincinnati. According to a news release, attendance will be open to licensed hams between the ages of 15 and 25 living in North, Central or South America. The program will feature activities related to contesting, kit-building, satellite communication, D-STAR, APRS, antenna building and radio direction-finding/orienteering. It is hoped that the 2020 event will serve as a pilot for future YOTA camps in different parts of the Americas (Region 2 of the International Amateur Radio Union).

The Region 2 YOTA camp is sponsored by Electronic Applications Radio Service (EARS), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to wireless technologies and activities. Donations to EARS are tax deductible in the US as permitted by law. Current sponsors of YOTA Camp include ICOM America, Heil Sound, X-Tronic, R&L Electronics, the YASME Foundation, World Wide Radio Operators Foundation, the Northern California DX Foundation, the Orlando HamCation and Orlando Amateur Radio Club, the Dayton Hamvention and the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, the Huntsville Hamfest, the Southwest Ohio DX Association, the ARRL Foundation and the Radio Amateurs of Canada. For more information about making a donation or attending the 2020 YOTA camp, visit <https://yotaregion2.org>.